Beneath the Scroll
by Fatalis Adamo
Summary: Carefully hidden for hundreds of years beneath the scrolls of the Universe of the Four Gods lies a secret that will change the Legend forever... Two warriors, bound each to the service of two Gods in a world that neither belongs
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

A girl with vibrant red hair and sparkling green eyes sauntered down the sidewalk carrying a backpack and an armful of manga, heading towards her friends house for a sleepover. Juggling her pile of books she rang the doorbell and was greeted by a girl with sleek blonde hair and gorgeous cerulean eyes. The girl took the pile of manga and set it aside before swallowing the red head in a hug.

"Emi-chan!" The blonde squealed.

"Hey Kyo-chan!" The red head grinned.

Emiko entered the house and Kyoko shut the door behind her, carrying the manga up to her room while Emi followed her. Together the owned countless sets of manga, it was something they'd started when they were younger, opting to split series rather then pay extra money for things they read together anyway.

Kyo sighed, "It's about time we had another major sleepover, it's been ages."

Emiko nodded. "I've brought all our supplies for the weekend."

"Enough manga to have killed a small forest," Kyo giggled, "did you bring the pocky?"

Emiko nodded, "Enough to keep us wired for the whole weekend," she answered, opening the middle pouch of her backpack, revealing at least fifteen boxes packed in tightly together. "Pocky should not be so delicious,"

"I whole heartedly agree", Kyo grinned as she ripped open a package and popped one in her mouth.

"So, what should we start with first?" Emiko asked, settling herself on the bed, toying with her own package of pocky.

"I vote we read FY, it's been ages since we've read it, and I kinda miss it."

"Sounds good, Genbu or Suzaku arc?"

"We'll start with Suzaku and read Genbu later, we should probably save it for last, you know how we get."

Emiko nodded vigorously. "Too true, I'm not in the mood for crying quite yet."

"Alright, let's get all settled, PJ's and snacks and endless hours of shojoy goodness."

The girls reconvened after 15 minutes, dressed in their pajamas and sprawled across the bed, each holding a side of the first manga of Fushigi Yuugi. They giggled over Miaka's dream and when it came to the Legend they both spoke it out loud. "Herein contains the tale of a young lady and her quest to gather the seven constellations of Suzaku together. And if you, the esteemed reader, should read to the story's end, the spell contained within this book shall bestow upon you the powers of the heroine and grant you your wish. For indeed the moment the page is turned, the story will become a reality."

Emiko sighed and rolled onto her back, looking over at Kyoko. "I remember the first time we read those words."

"Me too," Kyo smiled softly and sighed as well.

"I want to go back." Emiko rolled back over.

"Testify!" Kyo giggled and they high fived over the manga. Flipping the page, the last thing they saw before being blinded by a huge white light was Miaka and Yui being pulled into the book.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Kyoko stared around, trying to blink the spots out of her vision. One moment, she was sitting with Emiko, and the next she was sitting in a wagon full of straw. An excited smile spread slowly across her face. She was back! Over a year had passed in her world and now, finally, she had returned to the world of the Universe of the Four Gods.

She held back a squeal of excitement as she looked around, then froze. Where was Emiko? They had been together when the book pulled them in, but now she was nowhere to be seen.

'Oh no…judging by the color of the armor that those guards are wearing, I'm in Hong-nan. That mean…Ah! Poor Emi-chan must have landed in Qu-Dong!' The blonde girl could not help but feel sorry for her friend. As a seishi of both Genbu and Seiryuu, Emiko would now be forced to deal with Qu-Dong's heartless general, known as Nakago.

The girl sighed, slipping down from the wagon and onto the crowded streets. People stared briefly and whispered as they passed. She blushed, looking down at her casual jeans and pink, lacy tee-shirt, and knowing that she stuck out like a flashing neon light in the darkness. All of the people were wearing traditional Hong-nan garments, so there was not a single female in pants. A small frown crossed her face briefly. 'I'll have to adjust this.'

Looking around, the blonde slipped stealthily into a deserted alleyway. There was a wooden door hidden in the shadows. With any luck, she would be able to sneak inside and find something to wear. Carefully, Kyo opened the door and snuck inside. The room that she had entered was small, with several lines of clothing hung over a small fire, drying. There were piles of clothing in a woven basket against the far wall. The girl walked over and unfolded one of the shirts with a smile. Apparently one of the residents of the building was a young male aged about fifteen. 'Perfect. This ought to fit just perfectly!'

Kyo emerged a few moments later in a dark blue shirt in the style traditionally worn by men, and a pair of light brown pants. A violet sash was tied around her slender waist. She had also borrowed a pair of socks and soft-soled shoes. With her hair tied back in a bun, the girl looked almost like the average city youth.

"Now…I suppose I ought to find the palace…" Kyo muttered to herself.

That wasn't too big of a problem for her, as she could see the towering complex to the west. As the girl circled the building, she knew that while finding the place wasn't too hard, getting inside would be. She decided to go for the direct approach first. With a pleasant smile on her face, Kyoko walked up to one of the crimson-clad soldiers that guarded the palace gates.

"Excuse me, but do you think that you could please allow me through the gate? I have need to speak to His Highness, and it is very urgent."

The two bearded men laughed loudly. "And what would a child like you have to say that would be of any interest to His Majesty? Be off with you."

The blonde tried to protest, but was turned away forcefully. She chewed her lip in frustration, pacing around the palace walls. If they would not let her through the front gate, then she would find another way inside. At last, a solution came to her. There was a fruit vendor's stall set up beside one of the walls, and the vendor's crate-filled buggy was near enough that she could use those to climb up the walls! Kyo grinned. 'Lucky!'

Scaling the wobbly pile of crates was easy enough, the girl discovered, and she soon found herself climbing along the tiled rooftops of the imperial palace. She was in the outer courtyard now. Emperor Hotohori would more likely be found in the inner sanctum of the palace. The girl continued on her sneaky way, freezing with baited breath every time a guard passed beneath her.

'Almost there…' She thought to herself as she snuck over the wall to the inner courtyard. 'Aha!' Kyoko paused for a moment, admiring the beauty of the building around her. Such architecture no longer existed in her world, and she wanted to take the opportunity to savor it while she could.

Suddenly, several male voices sounded below her. The girl froze, flatting herself against the terra cotta tiles. Her own heartbeat sounded like thunder in her ears. The voiced paused for a moment, and Kyo was about to sigh in relief when the unthinkable happened—her foot slipped. She let out a small cry and shut her eyes tightly, waiting for the impact. Instead of landing on the hard ground like she expected, the girl landed on something soft.

After one heart-stopping moment, the girl opened her eyes to see what she had landed on. Her first impression was that she had landed on a pile of silks, but she suddenly realized that the pile of fabric actually hid a person. "Ah! Gomen nasai!" Kyo said hurriedly, scrambling off of her poor landing-pad and helping them to their feet. "Are you all right? I didn't mean to land on—" Her voice trailed off as her cerulean eyes met a pair of warm brown ones. 'Oh…crap…'

The person who she had landed on was a tall man with long, luxurious brown hair, and an almost feminine appearance, but Kyoko had seen this face enough to know that the person that she was faced with was not a woman. It was the emperor.

Within moments, the girl found herself surrounded by spear blades. The girl dropped to the ground and bowed respectfully, her face flushed with embarrassment. "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. Landing on you was not my intent."

Unfortunately for her, one of the men who were pointing a blade at her was one of the guards that had turned her away at the gate. "You!"

This was starting to go bad. The guards were dragging her to her feet when the girl burst out, "Tai Yi Jun sent me!"


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"I'm glad to see you're awake." Emiko turned her head to see where the voice had come from. She then looked down at what she was wearing, a mildly horrified expression covering her face. She was meeting the most feared man in this world, wearing her silk pajamas.

"Um, yes." She stared down at the blankets covering her lower half, not at all keen on making eye contact with the infamous general.

He was lounging in a chair next to her bed, his chin resting on the back of his hand. Despite the languidness of his body, he was still intimidating, especially if you knew some of the things he'd done. "Good, now you're going to tell me who you are and why you were wandering alone in the Qu-dong wilderness, and why you have a seishi symbol when they match none of those belonging to the warriors of Seiryuu."

Her eyes glanced up at him, her mind trying to formulate the words of explanation he'd asked for. "I got lost, my name is Yoken, I'm part of the Sieryuu seishi, but I also share an oath to Genbu as well. If you look beneath the scroll of Seiryuu, my name will be written there as the final seishi." She stared at him, wondering how someone could be so beautiful and yet so terrifying at the same time.

His deep blue eyes traced over her body, searching for signs of lying. "I see, well, if you happen to be lying then I'll have the soldiers take care of you."

Her eyes widened at his words, knowing full well what would happen to her if she was sent to the soldiers barracks. She shuddered. "I assure you, I am part of the Seiryuu seishi, but I haven't yet met with Tai Yu Jin to reactivate my powers."

Nakago simply nodded. "This will be your room for as long as we remain in the palace, you are to stay here unless your presence is requested."

She shifted uncomfortably, she had never done well with confinement. "I have to stay inside the room? Can't I at least wander the palace grounds or something?"

His blue eyes fixed into a glare. "This room and the Seiryuu shrine, nowhere else unless you are sent for, is that clear?" She nodded. "Good, your meals will be sent up to you, once I've confirmed your story I will return and we will discuss your uses to me." She nodded again, and he stood up, turning to leave the room. "You are not to leave this room until you have something more appropriate to wear, a pair of maid servants will be sent to you soon."

"Thank you." She stared at his back as he left the room, waiting until he had disappeared before flopping back on the bed. Her breath escaped her in a sigh. Kicking off the blankets she rolled out of bed to observe the room she was currently trapped in.

It really was beautiful. It didn't have the traditional red coloring of Chinese decoration, but rather it was decorated in smooth blue and silver shades. The walls were made of pale wood, the floor was decorated with a soft carpet of dark blue fabric with a silver dragon swirled over it. Her bed had a navy blue cover with silver sheets that felt like silk. She spent the next twenty minutes pacing back and forth, extremely impatient for the maids to arrive. She almost jumped out of her skin when she heard a knock at the door.

Sliding it open she was met with the faces of two girls, both years younger than herself. One had shoulder length black hair, and the other had waist length brown hair tied into a braid. "Hello." She greeted. "My name is Yoken, what are your names?"

"My name is Ai, Yoken-sama." The black haired girl answered.

"And my name is Mei, Yoken-sama."

Yoken smiled. "It's very nice to meet you, Ai, Mei. Are you two the maid servants Nakago sent for?"

The girls nodded meekly. "We've brought you some new clothes Yoken-sama." Ai told her, holding his the bundle of cloth in her arms. "Please disrobe so we may dress you."

Yoken peeled off her pajamas, glad she had worn a tank top beneath her shirt. She stood there in her undergarments while the two girls wrapped her in fabric. She was dressed in a dark blue skirt that descended to the floor and a matching tunic overtop that was bound around the waist with a thick silver sash. Mei worked to fasten the clothing while Ai combed out Yoken's hair and pinned it back into a decorative wrap, holding it in place with a series of silver pins. When Mei finished with the clothing, she dipped her fingertips into a bottle of scented oil and rubbed it on Yoken's wrists and behind her ears. The girls also offered her a pair of dragon earrings and a sheer silver shawl to drape around her shoulders.

Both girls stepped back, bowing deeply. "You are ready Yoken-sama, please follow us to the Shrine of Seiryuu. Nakago-sama has requested you be taken there." Mei told her.

Yoken nodded, following them out the door. She was lead through a series of hallways and through the inner courtyard until she was met with a pair of huge double doors. Ai turned to her. "This is where we leave you, Yoken-sama. We are not allowed in the shrine of Seiryuu."

"If you need us, we live with the palace seamstresses."

Yoken nodded. "Thank you, for everything." The two girls left her, and she carefully pushed open the doors of the shrine. She stood still for a moment, allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness. She'd read about the shrine, but had never before set foot in it, a wave of peaceful energy washed over her. Streams of water lined the ground, waterfalls dancing down the walls, and an immense statue of the beast god stood across the room. She crossed the room, kneeling in front of the statue, tracing her fingers over the cool metal from which it was made.

"Seiryuu." She whispered the name of her god, taking in the beauty of his shrine. Seiryuu was not an evil god, she knew that, it was the people who sought his power that held the darkness. He might be less amiable than Suzaku, but she supposed it was the same as with people.

Having nothing better to do while waiting for Nakago she sank down on the cold tile floor and let the sound of the swirling water lull her into a trance-like meditative state. Her body gave off a subtle glow in the low light of the shrine as her mind became vacant and restful. Unbeknownst to her the symbol on her wrist began to glow, signaling the activation of her power after nearly two years of silent dormancy.

When Nakago placed his hand on her shoulder she didn't even jump, having to slowly wake up each muscle as she returned to her normal state. "Your story has been confirmed. Tomorrow you will meet the Emperor and the Priestess of Seiryuu." Emiko nodded. "For now, you will come with me." Emiko rose to follow him, pushing down the sick feeling in her stomach.

"Hai, Nakago-Sama"

Author's Note: Both girls have Seishi names, and they're rather interchangable with their actual names. Kyoko's Seishi name is Mikagami, and Emiko's is Yoken. Yoken is mostly used when she's strictly with the Seiryuu group, but it varies. Just so you're not confused :)


End file.
